Only disasters that fulfil at least one of the below criteria are included in EM-DAT:
- 10 or more people reported killed
- 100 or more people reported affected
- Declaration of a state of emergency
- Call for international assistance

Fatalities are the number of Killed according to the EM-DAT definitions. Killed is defined as persons confirmed as dead and persons missing and presumed dead (official figures when available).

Persons affected are the number of Total affected according to the EM-DAT definitions. Total affected is the sum of injured, homeless, and affected. Injured is defined as people suffering from physical injuries, trauma or an illness requiring medical treatment as a direct result of a disaster. Homeless is defined as people needing immediate assistance for shelter. Affected is defined as people requiring immediate assistance during a period of emergency; it can also include displaced or evacuated people.

A “0” in EM-DAT does not represent a value and can mean either there were no reported events or no information is available.

Data Quality:

The EM-DAT database is compiled from various sources, including UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, insurance companies, research institutes and press agencies. Priority is given to data from UN agencies, governments and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The entries are constantly reviewed for redundancy, inconsistencies and incompleteness. CRED consolidates and updates data on a daily basis. A further check is made at monthly intervals. Revisions are made annually at the end of each calendar year.